


Help Wanted

by shinealightonme



Category: Leverage, Warehouse 13
Genre: Community: intoabar, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-11
Updated: 2010-03-11
Packaged: 2017-10-07 21:37:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/69482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinealightonme/pseuds/shinealightonme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sophie was supposed to be on vacation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Help Wanted

**Author's Note:**

> Written for A Ficathon Walks Into A Bar. Originally posted [on LJ](http://shinealightonme.livejournal.com/88522.html).

No matter how many times Sophie reminded herself that she was on vacation, it just wouldn't stick.

She traveled around. She saw the sights in Europe; all her old favorites, and some places she'd always meant to go. She followed some idle fancy back to the States (maybe it's that America hardly has any artwork worth stealing). She checked every street in case she'd find herself around the corner.

Instead, she found marks of all kinds – people with more money than brains. But she hasn't run a con since she left. So far. It's something to be proud of.

It's no accident that the mark who undoes all her hard honest work is a man who earned his money exploiting workers and intimidating anyone who tries to do anything about it. The thought that she'll let this one go doesn't last five minutes. The only problem is how to proceed. She's gotten used to having a net to catch her, a voice in her ear.

Maybe she's gotten lazy, but she's not sure she can pull this one off on her own.

The bar she's in isn't so remarkable – there must be hundreds just like it, spread throughout the country. The kind where you can do business or get away from business, and no one will look close enough to figure out which. It's not a bad spot for a grifter – not a bad spot for a cop, at that.

If this is her natural habitat, then it's foreign territory for the girl that's just walked in. Sure, she'd pass a first inspection, but Sophie makes a living off all the things that get missed in first inspections. It isn't the girl's appearance that gives her away, exactly – plenty of people look younger or older than they are. Sophie had passed herself off as a college freshman just a few years ago, even. There's just something in her attitude; something slightly defensive, as though she were waiting for someone to challenge her. She looks like every other amateur Sophie had ever seen with a fake ID.

_Hackers_. Utterly hopeless.

Sophie walks up to the bar and gets a better look at the girl. She's changed her hair and added a piercing or two, but that's definitely a match to the picture that Sophie's contact had given her: one Claudia Donovan, formerly of the Secret Service, went rogue last year and fell off the face of the Earth.

The girl is trying to wave down the bartender and is hardly on alert, so Sophie has no trouble sidling up beside her.

"Aren't you a little young to be drinking?" she asks.

Claudia jumps and steps back from Sophie, not knowing that it's a bit late for that. "Aren't you a little young to be my mother?" she snaps back, perhaps a bit short-tempered from being caught off-guard.

"I do believe I shall take that as a compliment," Sophie replies.

"Take it as a way of saying back off." She turns back to the bar. Sophie returns to her seat across the room to watch the performance.

Claudia gets the bartender over, but he looks suspicious. There she is, going for her wallet, then frantically searching when she can't find it.

Sophie smiles to herself; she'll never be a Parker, but she's certainly good enough to pick a pocket or two.

The bartender has had enough of Claudia and sends her away. She looks bewildered for a second as she turns around, and then her eyes fix on Sophie.

"Oh, good," Sophie calls as Claudia walks over to her. "I was starting to worry you wouldn't figure it out."

"Give it back," she snaps, and Sophie obeys.

Claudia immediately rifles through it, so Sophie tells her, "Don't worry, I didn't take any cash. That would be a bit low, don't you think? But I did keep this." She holds up the fake ID. The girl tries to snatch it, but Sophie pulls it back too quickly. "It's very good work. I can see why you're so eager to have it back. But I'm afraid that I can't give it to you just yet."

"What did I do to piss you off, lady?"

"It's not what you've done. It's what you could do. Please. Have a seat."

The girl scowls, looking for all the world like she'll refuse on principle. Sophie can see this is going to be a problem, perhaps too much of a problem to overcome. If the girl really is the angry rebel she's trying to be, there's no way she'll fit into the plan.

Claudia does, after a long moment, take the seat across from Sophie. "You going to give me what you stole now, or do we have to play another round of cryptic one-liners, first?"

Sophie has to admit that she still takes delight in being enigmatic. She's not sure how much that has to do with time spent around Nate Ford.

"That shouldn't be necessary," Sophie answers. "Perhaps just introductions? Call me Sophie." She pause for a minute, but Claudia doesn't speak. "And you are?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well, I could call you," Sophie makes a great show of checking the ID, "_Myka_, but I think we both know that isn't your name."

Claudia looks at her intently for a moment, something in her gaze serious and thoughtful enough to make Sophie almost feel uncomfortable with the scrutiny. "You're asking something you already know the answer to."

"I figured it was polite to ask, at least."

"You want to be polite, you buy me a drink."

"That sounds reasonable." Sophie goes to the bar and returns as quickly as she can without looking like she's rushing. She's half convinced that Claudia will split while her back is turned, but when she gets back to the table, the girl's still there. All the same, the promise of free alcohol is only going to get her so far.

"From what I've heard, you know a thing or two about computers."

Claudia shrugs. "Well, you can't believe everything you hear, right?"

"I have it on pretty good authority. As well as the fact that you're not entirely unfamiliar with how to work outside of the system."

"Good authority, so that's like, what, your horoscope for the day? Fox News?"

Sophie tries speaking in Claudia's native sarcasm. "Your ad on Craigslist, actually."

That seems to do the trick, because Claudia smiles. "If the internet said it, it must be true. But you could have shot me an e-mail or something, you didn't have to stalk me."

"I was in your neighborhood already. And I prefer dealing with these sorts of matters in person." Sophie leans forward and smiles her most charming smile. "How would you like to wreak some havoc, earn a little money, and save the day?"

Claudia considers for a moment before clinking her glass against Sophie's. "Sounds like one hell of a great Saturday night."


End file.
